Lorna, a podcast listener in Ireland, writes in with an observant question for you, Pastor

John.

The most popular question asked at Google is this, what is love?

Why do you think so many people struggle to understand love and how would you define

it?

I think if we start with the definition, it will become clearer why so many people

struggle to understand what love is.

So let's admit that there are very different kinds of love or to put it another way.

The word love can be used in many different ways.

So whenever we're asking what love is, like Lorna is asking me now, in a sense, I need

to respond and say, according to whose definition or according to what document or according

to what passage of scripture or so, for example, CS Lewis, and I would recommend this very

highly in his book The Four Loves, Distinguishes Aeros, kind of romantic love where the lovers

are hungry for each other, and Philos, Friendship Love where two people are linked arm and arm

shoulder to shoulder with a common vision and a common goal and a delight in that partnership

of pulling together toward the goal and story gay, a affection that one might have for

an old sweater or slippers, an old dog that you just can't let go, and agape, divine love

characterized by sacrifice than the pursuit of another person's good.

So just from Lewis, you see, well, which one of those do you want me to define?

And when you say what is what is love?

So that's part of the reason why people are groping is because the word love has so many

different references and it's not a bad thing that it should.

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